Tainted
by Wolfwind97
Summary: Akio witnesses Tomoya being abused by his father. Will Tomoya die? Has Akio arrived too late? Warning: Abuse.


**A/N: So, I just now finished playing the video game 'The Walking Dead' and it had an extremely sad ending, bringing up every ounce angst inside of me. Blame that game for this. Also, if this fanfic relates to anybody's life, know that it is entirely coincidential.**

**(Akio)**

Surprisingly, the bakery was getting a lot of customers. "Thank you, come again!" I said as I took a woman's money and she left with the bread. As she left, another customer stepped up to be paid. It was like this for nearly half and hour. Finally, I sat down with a sigh, "We've never made so much money in one day." I lit a cigarette and looked at the window, noticing my daughter was standing outside the bakery. I rose to my feet and went to her, "What are you doing?"

She looked at me, "Tomoya was supposed to meet me forty minutes ago..."

Sanae walked up beside me, "Have you tried calling him, Nagisa?"

My daughter nodded, "Yeah, but nobody's answering and he's not with Surihara either."

"Maybe he's just busy." I said, trying to cheer Nagisa up.

She shook her head, "Tomoya is never this late. If was busy, then he would have called. I have a bad feeling, too. Like something is wrong."

Sanae replied, "You can't jump to conclusions, Nagisa. I'm sure Tomoya is fine."

"But... I don't know..." My daughter began.

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, "Fine. Where does he live?"

I listened carefully as Nagisa told me the directions to Tomoya's house. I began to walk, thinking, _'Tomoya, if you're doing this on purpose, I'll kill you.'_. Frustrated, I continued walking and made my way to the Okasaki residence. Just as I was about to knock on the door, I heard glass shatter. Quickly, I opened the door and ran inside. There was nobody in the living room or kitchen, but I heard a dull thump from the other end of the house.

Cautiously, I quietly walked toward the noise. I jumped whenever I heard somebody yell, "It's your fault! Everything is your fault!" There was more thumps and I heard something snap, a cry of pain following it. I looked into the room and saw a sight that made my heart drop into my gut. A man held a bloody, metal baseball bat and stood towering over a familiar figure covered in blood and bruises.

The man lifted the bat to strike again, but I ran toward him and grabbed it just before it hit Tomoya. I wrenched it from the man's grasp and hit him in the stomach with it, sending him falling backward. I could smell the alcohol from the man and the blood from the wounded teen. I looked at Tomoya, who was on his side, struggling to breathe and held his chest gently. His face was a mask of pain and I glared at the man who done this.

"You're lucky Tomoya needs help right now." I growled at the man and pulled my cell phone from my pocket, calling emergency services. I told them the situation and closed the phone, crouching down next to the injured teen. "An ambulance is on it's way, you'll be alright."

The man behind me yelled, "He's my son, I can do whatever I want to him!"

I turned toward him, "Like hell you can! What kind of father does this to his son?" I charged toward him, punched him in the face, grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him against the wall. "Listen here you bastard, if you even come close to him again, I'll kill you. I swear to God I will kill you." I wanted to kill him in that instant as his face turned a deep shade of purple from the lack of oxygen.

There was a closet beside me and I opened the door, then threw the guy inside, shut the door, and blocked it with a piece of furniture. He could stay there until the police had him in custody. I went over to Tomoya again and noticed he was coughing up blood now. Where a portion of his ribs should be, there a sunken in hole. Gently, carefully, I raised his shirt up just a bit and saw blue and yellow bruises.

The bruises stretched from his side, across his chest and stomach, and to the opposite side. His back was the same way and blood poured from a gash in his head. I tore a piece of my shirt off and held it against the bleeding wound. The cloth was covered in less than a minute. Tomoya's breathing became slow and shallow, his eyes halfway closed.

"You have to stay awake, kid. Okay? You have to stay awake." I said, afraid that if he closed his eyes then it was over. However, his eyes continued to close. "Tomoya!" He looked at me for a moment and tried to move, but the pain was too much for him. He clenched his teeth painfully and a few tears slipped down his face. "You're going to be okay, just don't move and stay awake."

Even though I constantly talked to him and even yelled, I could only watch helplessly as his eyes closed completely. "Dammit, kid, wake up! Wake up!" I heard the sirens in the distance and it felt like it took them forever to reach their destination. Finally, I heard the paramedics and policemen come through the door. I stepped outside the room, "Back here!"

The paramedics came quickly with a gurney following them with the police behind them. I showed the police where the man was and they took him out of the room. I stepped aside and watched as the paramedics checked Tomoya's pulse and blood pressure. His pulse was extremely slow and his blood pressure was quickly dropping. Quickly, carefully, they put him on the gurney and took him out of the house with me behind them. I got in the ambulance and watched as the doors closed, then the vehicle rushed down the road with the sirens raging. They put an IV in his arm and wrapped his head carefully. There wasn't much they could do and they basically had to wait until they got to the hospital.

After what seemed like years, we made it to the hospital. They got him out of the ambulance and rushed him toward the Emergency Room doors, where they were swarmed with ER doctors. The last thing I heard from them as they took the teen back was, "He's going into cardiac arrest."

I sat in the waiting room and dialed a number, then lifted the phone to my ear. "Sanae, it's me. Listen, I need you to come to the hospital right now."

_"Why? Which hospital?" _She asked.

I told her the hospital name, "It's Tomoya."

She didn't need to be told anything else, _"We're on our way."_ I hung up the phone and waited for any kind of news. The smell of the hospital cleaner made it smell too sterile, as if in an attempt to cleanse away the grief people felt when walking in. I sat with my head in my hands and eyes closed. _'How long has Tomoya been abused? Is he going to make it? What can I do about it?' _I rose to my feet and began to pace the room, _'Why am I so anxious? He's not related to me or anything.'_ I sighed, because I knew the answer. _'He's practically a family member now. He's been around us a lot. He is a part of our family.'_

I looked in the direction they took him and prayed the kid would make it out of the Emergency Room alive. Images of the blood and broken bones continued to flash like lightning in my head. I leaned against the wall with my eyes shut and hands clenched into a fist. The kid was just too strong to be broken down like that. He wasn't exactly lively, but he was a good person, he loved my daughter and accepted her family for what we were, even though we were strange. In that moment, I finally understood why he accepted us. We were like a family to him, just like I saw him as my own son.

Now, my son was probably near death. The thought was nearly unbearable and I remembered the time when Nagisa was really sick and I ran to a clearing surrounded by trees with her in my arms. I begged at that time for somebody to save her. I found myself desperate enough to do the same, but I didn't. It was already too late. Whether Tomoya lived or died was not my decision to make. I rested my head against the wall and raised it again when I saw my wife and daughter enter through the doors.

Both of them rushed toward me and Sanae asked, "How is he? What happened?"

I looked at their face, both filled with grief, anxiousness, and worry. My heart broke at the thought of having to tell them the kid we grew used to may not live to see another sunrise. I shook my head, "They took him back not too long ago. It's bad."

Nagisa looked at me with tear-filled eyes, "What happened?"

I swallowed the lump of sorrow and anger as I remembered what I witnessed. I stared down at the floor, a shadow forming over my eyes. "His father beat him."

They were both silent for a moment as the horrifying truth sank in. Sanae had a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide in dibelief and fear. Nagisa began to cry openly now and she looked toward the Emergency Room. I took a step toward her and hugged her comfortingly. She buried her face in my shirt and cried. Sanae joined the hug and the three of us were huddled together, mentally praying for a miracle. Two drops of water slipped down my face and I looked up to see if the ceiling was leaking. Only then did I realize that there was no leak as two more tears slipped down my face.

***Three Hours Later***

We rose to our feet when the doctor exited the Emergency Room, anticipation and fear coursing through our veins. I could hear the doctor's footsteps on the ground and the _swish swish _of his attire. Finally, he stood in front of us. "You must be here for Tomoya Okasaki." When we didn't answer, he knew we were. "As of right now, his condition is stable, but it may deteriorate, we can't be for sure. He has four broken ribs, a punctured lung, and he had internal bleeding in his stomach. We stopped the internal bleeding and the lung will just have to take time to heal, along with the broken ribs and serious bruises. We'll do everything we can to keep the pain to a minimum, so he'll be able to rest easier."

Sanae nodded her head, "Thank you." Nagisa hugged her, relieved yet still anxious after hearing the news.

I looked back at the doctor and he motioned for me to walk with him down the hallway, which I did. "There's something else wrong with him, right?"

The doctor nodded his head, "It's nothing to worry about majorly, but we lost him three times during the operation. His heart can still give out and right now he has a survival rate of fifty percent."

"Do you think he's going to make it?" I asked.

The doctor glanced at me, "As a doctor, I'm not allowed to state my opinion."

I glared at him, "Do you think he's going to make it?"

He sighed, "Remember, we can't be certain. But, he's a strong kid, I think he'll make it. I hope you take care of whoever abused him. I've seen cases just like his the long years I have worked here, I can distinguish the difference between an accident and abuse. I can tell you and your family care about him, take good care of your entire family, including the boy."

I nodded, "Thank you for everything. As for the boy, he's already one of our family members." Then, I remembered something. "Look, about paying for the operation-"

The doctor waved his hand, "Don't worry about it. Just give the kid another chance at life, that will be payment enough for me."

At that statement, I was grateful. I extended my hand and the doctor shook it. "Thank you, doctor. My family and I won't forget this."

The man smiled, "I have to go to another patient. Oh, and you will be able to see Tomoya once he wakes up, but I must warn you, he's hooked to a lot of machines. The sight my be a bit overwhelming."

"I saw the kid's father beat him to a bloody pulp, I'm sure I can handle a few machines." I smiled despite the situation and walked back toward my family. My wife and daughter sat in their chair with hope glistening in their eyes. I didn't have the heart to tell them Tomoya died three times during the procedure, so I kept my mouth shut. "The doctor said we could see him when he woke up, but he's hooked to a lot of machines."

Nagisa shook her head, "I don't care. I'm going to see him, he'd do the same for me."

Sanae nodded in agreement and I sighed, because I really didn't want them to see what I saw. I sat down besdie them and waited for the news that Tomoya had awakened. I couldn't understand why the kid's father nearly killed him. I knew the man was drunk, that seemed to be the only reason. However, why was Tomoya even there? Everytime I talked to him, he either stayed with us or his friend's dorm. _So why did he go back? _I shook my head and sighed, wishing life could be easier.

After what seemed like days, the nurse came and told us he was awake. Sanae and Nagisa rose to their feet and quickly began to follow the nurse as she lead them to the wounded boy's room. I followed them, unsure of what we were about to see. "Sanae, Nagisa, wait." They paused at his room and looked at me. I stated, "Let me go first."

Nagisa looked like she was about to argue, but Sanae said, "Okay. Tell us when we can come in."

I nodded and walked past them and opened the door. I walked in and immediately heard the beep of machines. In front of me, there were numerous machines attached to the broken body of somebody I knew. I walked over to the side of the hospital bed and the teen opened his eyes. A ventilator helped him breathe, morphine dripped from an IV, a heart monitor measured his heart rate and measured his blood pressure, and bandages and stitches covered his body. "You look like shit."

Weakly, the teen glared at me. He didn't need to talk to tell me, _'Shut up.'_

I managed to smile, "Don't worry about a thing, kid. We'll sort everythig out somehow." Tomoya knew I was talking about his father and a mixture of emotions crossed his eyes: sadness, anger, frustration... But the main two I saw was fear and regret. The last two I didn't entirely understand. Fear? Yeah, that was probably because of what happened to him. Regret? Did he regret gonig home or was there something more? "Nagisa and Sanae want to see you. Are you up for it?"

He thought for a moment, then gave me a look. I knew what he was thinking, so I stated, "I tried to tell them the sight may be too much, they're too stubborn to listen." Humor gleamed in the teen's eyes for a brief second then disappeared as he slowly nodded. I stepped into the doorway where my wife and daughter stood anxiously. They looked at me and I stepped aside, letting them into the room.

Both of them hesitated for a moment when they saw him, then Sanae took the first step forward and smiled at the teen. "Hey, Tomoya. It's a relief to see you're finally awake." She sat down in a chair beside of the bed like she always done with Nagisa when she was in the hospital.

The room grew quiet as Nagisa stood motionless toward the doorway with tear-filled eyes. Tomoya looked at her, the happiness of his old self returning yet again. Slowly, my daughter stepped forward until she was right next to the injured teen. However, she did not move after that, she was too afraid. Then, her tears fell and she turned her head away from her friend.

Sanae and I watched as Tomoya weakly lifted his arm to Nagisa's cheek and he gently wiped away her tears. His arm nearly fell from the lack of strength, but my daughter caught his hand and gripped it tightly in hers. Tomoya tried to squeeze her hand in a comforting gesture and, even though it was weak, it done it's job. My daughter knew her friend was alive and would heal, Tomoya confirmed that fact.

As a father, I have always believed my job is to protect her from anything and everything, even her own feelings. However, I knew that wasn't possible. Some emotions I could protect her from: guilt, sadness, frustration... Along the way, though, somebody would come and steal her heart and love. Even though Nagisa loved me, she didn't love me like she did Tomoya. I knew I was looking at the one teen, one man, that had already found Nagisa's heart and love; I knew deep down that he would cherish it forever, because that's how the teen is.

However, there was one silent vow I made, one every father should have for his daughter. _If he hurts you in anyway, I'll show him what a father's rage really is. _

***Seven Months Later***

**(Tomoya)**

Laughter. At one point in my life, I thought I would never experience it again. As I sat at the table with Sanae, Akio, and Nagisa, I knew my life had changed drastically. My father was sent to prison for a year. Apparently, the police had no real evidence of my abuse, other then mine and Akio's word. There was only suspicion. Five months ago, I was released from the hospital and brought to Nagisa's home, which would be my official residency until I managed to get a home of my own.

Everybody was good to me and I was thankful for that. Then again, they were always nice to me. I always thought Akio didn't really like me, since I was with his daughter often. However, I now know that he actually cares. I remember everything that happened that day, even when Akio arrived. I later thanked him for what he done, but no words could express my gratitude to him. If he hadn't arrived when he did, I would definitely be dead.

However, nightmares plague my sleep nearly every night. I re-live that day in full detail in my sleep, even though I have done my best to push them away. I refused to go to a phychiatrist, I wasn't crazy, just terrified and emotionally tortured. I looked behind me constantly now, afraid of an attack from behind. Every sound near me sends off warning signals in my brain. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore.

After dinner one night, Akio lit a cigarette and went outside to smoke. I followed him and sat down in a bench beside of him. "How do I get over it?" I asked.

He inhaled the smoke, then let it escape through his nose. "I don't know, kid. I honestly don't know."

With a sigh, I leaned against the wall behind me, "Just the thought of seeing him... it terrifies me."

Akio glanced down at me, stunned. Throughout my entire life, I hid my fears from everyone, even Sunohara, my best friend. Was it a good thing to do? I don't know, but after what happened, hiding my fears became a lot more difficult. The whole time I lived, I had not realized that my own father was my greatest fear. I was afraid to be around him, but I was also afraid to be abandoned. Briefly, I wondered why everything had to be so challenging.

"A wise man once said, 'The only thing you have to fear is fear itself'." Akio stated as he put out the cigarette. "That man said that during a depression and the people managed to pull out of it."

I thought for a moment, "How is that supposed to help me, though?"

He began to walk back into the house, "Think about it, kid."

Needless to say, I thought about it for weeks. Those weeks turned into months. However, I eventually put down my guard. Even though my father was now out of prison, I didn't really worry about it. I was beginning to return to normal. I had not seen him since that day and I found that I could live with that. However, in the end, I guess we all have to face our fears whether we're ready or not.

Nagisa and I were walking home from trying to recruit members to rebuild the drama club, which hadn't proved very successful. When I was with her, every worry and insecurity seemed to disappear. We walked side by side, enjoying the fading sunlight. We walked past an alley when, suddenly, a pair of hands reached out and dragged her into the alley. I lunged to grab her hand, but I saw the glint of metal at her throat. "Don't move or the girl dies."

I growled and clenched my fists, "Let her go."

"The way I see it, you're not in the position to make demands." A voice stated from the shadows, making my heart stop and body freeze.

I knew the voice, even though I had not heard it in over a year. I stared at the figure shrouded in darkness, my father. "W-What do you want?"

He chuckled, "You sent me to jail. It's time for me to pay you back. Besides, I wasn't finished with you the last time we met."

Terror threatened to overwhelm me, but Nagisa's fear-filled eyes brought me back to my senses, "This is between you and me. Let the girl go."

"No, after we're done with you, we're going to take her with us." Her captor said and put his mouth next to Nagisa's ear, "We'll take good care of her."

I debated on what to do. My entire body told me to run, but I couldn't leave Nagisa. I had to get her out of this somehow without her getting hurt. However, I held back because I was terrified. Then, Akio's words rang in my head, _"'The only thing you have to fear is fear itself'." _For Nagisa's sake, I would do anything to protect her.

"What's wrong kid? Have you wet your pants yet?" One of the men taunted. There were four men all together, including my father and the one that held Nagisa hostage. The other three were well-built with muscle, I had no chance against them, I knew that. Regardless, I had to protect Nagisa.

The words slipped out of my mouth with no regret, "You can do whatever you want to me, just let her go."

My father laughed, "We're going to kill you, Tomoya, and we're going to let your little girlfriend watch."

At those words, the other two men lunged at me. I swung my fist at the first one and it connected to his jaw, but didn't make him falter. The other one grabbed my left arm and slung me to the ground, making my head hit the pavement. Instantly, they were on me, throwing vicious punches at my face. Then, they rose to their feet and began to kick me in my stomach, ribs, and chest. The old wounds I had burned, even though it had been a while ago. I gritted my teeth and curled into a ball with my hands over my head. Eventually, they grew bored of hitting me, so they lifted my to my feet.

Half conscious and bleeding from my head, lip, and nose, I looked as my father walked closer to me, a knife in his hand. "I've been waiting for this." He held the knife to my throat and I could feel the blade sink easily into my skin, enough to draw blood. In my periphreal vision, I could see Nagisa struggling as she cried and yelled at them to not hurt me anymore. I hated to see her like that. I tried to order my limp body to move, but it refused.

"No! Tomoya! Let him go!" Nagisa yelled, tears spilling down her face. Her captor turned her around and slapped her in the face, the noise echoed off the alley walls.

My father laughed, "You're girlfriend is pretty wild. Too bad that will end soon. Any last words, Tomoya?"

I growled through gritted teeth, "You'll regret you done that to her, you bastard." I kicked the knee of one of the men behind me and slung the other one into my father. Rage coursed through my veins and I glared at the man holding Nagisa. He held the knife against her throat, beads of blood appearing on her skin. Something knocked my legs out from under me and I fell to the ground. A second later, I felt the familiar baseball bat collide against my back, then ribs. I was taken back to when my father nearly killed me the first time.

The memories washed over me, I couldn't help it. I remembered walking into my room, getting hit from behind, my father yelling, telling me my mother's death was my fault, the pain, blood, the want to die... I remembered all of it. However, one thing brought me back to the present.

"Tomoya!" Nagisa yelled sorrowfully.

I grabbed the baseball bat with my left arm just before it slammed into my head. My father looked at me, stunned, "Your left arm can't be used..." I yelled and thrust the end of the baseball bat into his stomach. As he releaed his grip on the end of the bat, I grabbed it and swung at Nagisa's captor, hitting him in the head, knocking him out instantly. As my father tried to crawl to his feet, I hauled him up by his shirt collar and slammed him against the wall. "You made my life a living Hell! You caused me and everyone else so much pain! Thanks to you, I won't be the same again! You nearly killed me that day! You're no longer my father." I let him slump to the ground and looked at the frightened Nagisa. Only then did I realize I had the bat prepared to hit the man in front of me in the head, a hit the could be fatal. I threw it further into the alley, grabbed Nagisa's hand, and began to walk away. Before I got out of the alley, I turned back to the man that made my life a living Hell. "Thanks to you, I won't become a father like you."

With that said, I walked away with Nagisa. When we turned around the corner and I was sure we were not followed, I stopped. Comfortingly, Nagisa hugged me. I realized then that I was shaking along with her. I returned the hug, "I'm sorry you were dragged into that."

"I'm fine, but you really need to go to the hospital. You need stitches." Nagisa stated.

I sighed, "I'll be okay, now. Hopefully, they won't mess with us again."

She nodded, "Thank you."

"Don't worry about it." I replied, knowing what she was talking about. "I'll protect you anytime. You saved me from myself when we first met, it was my turn to save you." We stood there in the middle of the street, unaware that the darkness had descended upon the city. However, to us, not even the dark could vanquish the light in which illuminated our love and care for each other.

**The End**


End file.
